"Woooh!! Power!"
In the plaza, Doflamingo's impassioned speech had the pirates nodding fervently in agreement.
Caesar was astonished to observe that initially, when Doflamingo revealed his identity as a Celestial Dragon, at least sixty percent of the pirates present harbored resentment toward him, with thirty percent even brimming with murderous intent.
Yet by the end of his speech, those same pirates—once filled with rage and bloodlust—were now flushed with excitement, cheering even more wildly than the others.
Their hostility toward Doflamingo had completely vanished.
"Mamamama, Joker is truly a talent, Caesar. Trading the remains of Sengoku for him was definitely worth it," Linlin whispered with a chuckle into Caesar's ear.
"Borororo, my little brother has good taste, eh?" Caesar boomed, slapping Kaido heavily on the shoulder, nearly knocking him forward.
Kaido let out an irritated grunt and swatted away Caesar's massive hand.
But the next moment, Caesar "affectionately" wrapped an arm around his neck.
"(⊙o⊙)… Let go of me!" Kaido felt like he was suffocating.
"Did I just hear someone call me flashy? Little brother, did you catch that? Tell me who it was—I'll hang them up and beat them senseless."
Linlin burst into muffled laughter behind her hand.
After toying with Kaido for a while, Caesar leaned in and murmured.
"Little brother, settle your family issues tonight. The conflict between you and your precious daughter can't drag on any longer. I'll extract your memories and show them to Yamato—let her see whether you really killed her mother, as Oden claimed."
Kaido froze at first, then looked bewildered, then furious—before finally deflating, his entire demeanor suddenly seeming older.
"Doflamingo!" Caesar took the lead, heading towards the massive arched venue at the center of Whole Cake Island, calling out to Doflamingo on the high platform.
"Hmm?"
Doflamingo turned his gaze in their direction and saw Caesar giving him a thumbs-up.
With a bashful smile, Doflamingo actually seemed a little embarrassed.
"Doffy, you said it perfectly. Look, the pirates are all fired up." Diamante approached with a hunched back, wearing an exaggerated smile as he handed Doflamingo a sheet of paper.
"Here's the full list of participants for today's meeting. We need to arrange their entry in order. Will you be the one to announce them?"
Doflamingo chuckled and took the paper from him.
"No, Katakuri will handle the announcements. After all, he's the successor of the Beast God Pirates."
Sure enough, shortly after, Katakuri and King arrived swiftly, took the paper from Doflamingo without even exchanging greetings, and immediately headed to the entrance of the venue.
"I really envy Katakuri-sama, being the successor of the Beast God Pirates. Having such an invincible father must be amazing. Sigh... Doffy, do you really think we should stay with the Beast God Pirates forever? Just submitting to others like this? With your talents, I believe we could break away and build our own great faction."
Diamante glanced around cautiously, ensuring no members of the Beast God Pirates were nearby, before whispering to Doflamingo.
Doflamingo's brows furrowed deeply as he looked at Diamante and spoke slowly.
"Diamante, how could you even think that? Have you forgotten who saved us from the Marines? The Beast God Pirates are a good fit for us. They shield us from storms and let us exercise our talents."
"But... you possess the Conqueror's Haki—the mark of a king! How can you be content with serving under others? The you from back then would never have bowed to sheer power. Don't you crave having that strength for yourself? Don't you—"
"Enough! Diamante, I don't want to hear another word of this. I've made my decision. The Beast God Pirates will be the final destination of the Donquixote Family. I will follow this pirate ship to its peak—until the very end."
Doflamingo cut Diamante off with a sharp rebuke, then flew toward the venue without another glance back.
He, too, was one of the participants in this meeting.
"Doffy... you've forgotten your original ambition." Diamante remained standing in place, his eyes flickering with an unreadable light.
The massive spherical structure at the center of Whole Cake Island was designed by the New World's top architects, supervised by Katakuri, and personally constructed by the Beast God Pirates' newly appointed Minister of Construction—Pica.
The apex of the spherical building was adorned with an extravagantly luxurious gold-plating technique, making the colossal structure appear opulent and majestic, gleaming with golden brilliance under the sunlight.
Katakuri and King stood on either side of the grand entrance, welcoming the attendees.
Holding the list in his hands, Katakuri solemnly announced in a booming voice:
"Participants of the meeting—Beast God Pirates: Barbarossa Caesar, Barbarossa Kaido, Charlotte Linlin, Ganzui, Katakuri!"
"Roger Pirates: Silvers Rayleigh, Scopper Gaban, Isaac, Sunbell!"
"Red Hair Pirates: Shanks, Ben Beckman, Yasopp, Lucky Roux."
"Blackbeard Pirates: Marshall D. Teach, Van Augur, Doc Q."
"Crocodile, Moria, Gin, Morgans, Stussy, Vincent..."
As Katakuri's resonant voice echoed, one legendary pirate after another strode confidently into the vast, brightly lit venue.
The layout of the venue featured fan-shaped seating arrangements.
Each seat was exceptionally large, designed with the massive builds of certain pirates in mind, uniformly crafted to the maximum specifications.
For figures like Caesar and Kaido, the seats were just right, while for those like Rayleigh and Shanks, sitting in them felt like lounging on an enormous bed.
As the last pirate entered, the towering doors of the venue—dozens of meters high—slowly closed. Katakuri strode over with his long legs and took a seat beside Linlin.
The front row was reserved for the leaders of the most formidable pirate crews: Shanks, Teach, Caesar, and Rayleigh.
Clap clap clap.
Once everyone was seated, Caesar rose from his spot, baring his fang-filled mouth in a grin.
"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Totto Land for the First Pirate Alliance Conference. Since this is the first of its kind, let's designate it as the inaugural session."
"The reason I've gone to such lengths to convene this meeting is simple: to unite the strength of all pirates. Together, we can stand against the Marines, the World Government, and even the Revolutionary Army."
"You all surely remember the tragic downfall of the Whitebeard Pirates at the hands of the Marines."
"A crew that held the title of the strongest in the New World, led by the world's strongest man—Whitebeard's crew stood unshaken for decades, reigning supreme on the seas. Their ultimate demise stemmed from one thing: infighting among pirates. Our lack of unity allowed the Marines' crude strategies to succeed!"